‘Reuse It Yourself’ movement could revolutionise DIY

Some “14 million tonnes” of unwanted building materials generated by the construction industry could be saved from being dumped in landfills in a new reclaim and resell scheme.

Under the new initiative, three ‘ReIY’ (Reuse It Yourself) centres will be piloted across the country – in Wirral, Waltham Forest and Tees Valley – offering a cheaper, greener alternative to DIY. Aimed at the SME building trade and DIY customers, the centres will stock good quality unused materials, such as timber, tiles, paving slabs and flooring, and resell them between 20% and 80% cheaper than their new equivalents.

Created by sustainability charity BioRegional – of BedZED eco-village fame – the first two centres are set to open in May 2009. Cara Whelan, Project Manager at BioRegional, said: “The construction industry is the single largest producer of waste in England, producing an estimated 120 million tonnes of waste per year. We calculate that 12%, or 14 million tonnes, can be reused.”

Funded by WRAP, an organisation helping businesses go green, BioRegional estimates that the ReIY scheme will enable a carbon saving of “around 500kg for every tonne of construction materials reused”.

Based on a successful US model, the scheme will be run on a social enterprise business model, with each centre creating “around four full time jobs and up to 100 volunteer placements or traineeships”. And if the pilot proves successful, the concept could be rolled out nationally: “The sky’s the limit! There are over 1,000 Travis Perkins [builders’ merchants] stores in the UK. If the idea takes off there could be a ReIY centre in every town,” enthused Whelan.

Forum for the Future’s Head of Built Environment, Martin Hunt, was fully supportive of the concept: “Anything that makes it easier to exchange and sell on unused building materials is a great idea, particularly for smaller businesses in the current economic climate.” 
– Rebecca Schischa

17 April 2009

Rebecca Schischa